What would happen without cars?

Question

What would happen in American History if the internal combustion engine was never invented?

Answer 1

to widget maker...................................... makes carpet cleaner

Answer 2

we would probably still use horses and carriages for transportation or people would just walk to where ever their destination is

Answer 3

With no cars, we would have no place to go to be alone.

Answer 4

Stanley steamer.

Answer 5

Horse 'manure' was becoming a major problem right about the time the horseless carriage was invented. Cars solved that problem. There is no need to do away with cars entirely. Electrics will become  viable in the very near future. The technology exists, it's just a matter of patent protection.

Answer 6

More of us would be able to see our shoelaces while tying them.

But seriously, our whole society is built around cars. Many people travel 30-100 miles per day each way to get to work. Try doing that on a horse.

In some high population areas, cars could be effectively eliminated by public transportation, but that won't work where population density is low. It's not cost effective.

Without the internal combustion engine (or any other technology to replace it) we would have had to work closer to home, eat local foods instead of ones from all over the world, do without some foods and consumer products altogether, especially during the winter months.

We've got the technology now to change all that. With an Apollo type program, we could eliminate fossil fuels totally from our lives in a decade or so. Now that gasoline is about to pass the $4.00 per gallon mark (and it will go much higher eventually), maybe we'll get serious about it.

Answer 7

we would get around like they do in europe , walk bike or rail

Answer 8

horses

Answer 9

the world would have been a little greener & we guys alittle slimmer>>>>>>>

Answer 10

Without cars:

Up until the 1920's railroads were king.  Cities relied heavily on train commuter service.  Everyone had come to rely on them for all long distance transportation, excepting sea travel.

Local stuff and short distance transport still relied on horses until around 1915.  WWI brought on the truely massive manufacture of automobiles.  Critical mass and technology didn't replace steam until the 1930's.  Air travel was available commonly till after WWI, didn't become an important common mode of travel untill around 1960, and was really expensive until the late 60's.

Just the other day on possibly the History Channel (one of the "On-Demand" 10 minute short shows) there was a segment on farming tractors.  It was in the 1920's or so that internal combustion started replacing horses and steam tractors.  Agricultural production went through the roof!

So without internal cumbustion we'd not be able to support or have today's population, we'd not have air travel except maybe by steam powered zepplins, we'd have fantastic rail transportation.  We'd have plenty of electric powered rail systems, they began around 1900-1910.  Battery technology would probably be farther advanced (the battery's been around 200 years I believe) , maybe to the point where electric cars were practical.

Cities would be built around rail transport, not sprawled out into vast endless suburbs like today.

We'd probably have a lot less air polution.  Even back then they were looking for more efficient ways of using oil.  Smog was already a problem in some cities so that would have had to be addressed between the 20's and today.

Answer 11

HORSES WOULD BE CARED FOR AND YOU'D SMELL THE TREES AND FLOWERS FOR A CHANGE, INSTEAD OF GOING BY IN A FLASH.

Answer 12

You would have a lot of miserable people.Especially those who solely rely on their car,train,plane,or buses to get them from here to there.Personally I don't mind walking however i have no problem taking other means of transportation.